OPTICAL TOUCH DISPLAY DEVICE
An optical touch display device includes a display unit and at least one light sensing module. The display unit includes a first substrate and a display layer. The first substrate has a display area and a non-display area surrounding the display area. The display layer is disposed on the display area of the first substrate. The light sensing module is disposed on an upper surface of the non-display area of the first substrate. A side surface of the light sensing module has a light sensing window, and at least a portion of the light sensing window is adapted to receive light above the display unit. The optical touch display device has a thin thickness.
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This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/347,404, filed May 22, 2010, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a touch display device, and more particularly to an optical touch display device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONTouch display devices are easily operated, so that the touch display devices have been widely used in many electronic products, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), digital cameras, music players, computers, satellite navigation devices and so on.
Currently, common touch display devices include resistive touch display devices, capacitive touch display devices and optical touch display devices. The optical touch display devices are received more and more attention due to having an advantage of low cost.
The light sensing module 124 has a plurality of photosensitive pixels so as to detect the light 123. When a user operates the touch unit 120, a transmitting path of a portion of light 123 is changed, so that a portion of the photosensitive pixels do not detect the light 123. Therefore, a touch position can be calculated according to the photosensitive pixels that have not detected the light 123.
In the conventional technology, because the touch unit 120 is disposed on the transparent substrate 130, the overall thickness of the optical touch display device 100 is thick.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides an optical touch display device which has a thin thickness.
To achieve the above-mentioned advantage, the present invention provides an optical touch display device includes a display unit and at least one light sensing module. The display unit includes a first substrate and a display layer. The first substrate has a display area and a non-display area surrounding the display area. The display layer is disposed on the display area of the first substrate. The light sensing module is disposed on an upper surface of the non-display area of the first substrate. A side surface of the light sensing module has a light sensing window, and at least a portion of the light sensing window is adapted to receive light above the display unit.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the light sensing module includes a sensing unit and a fixing unit. The sensing unit is fixed above the non-display area of the first substrate via the fixing unit and the fixing unit elevates the sensing unit to above the display unit. Thereby, the sensing unit is capable of detecting the light above the display unit via the at least a portion of the light sensing window and outputting a sensing signal.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the side surface having the light sensing window abuts the display layer, and the side surface having the light sensing window and the light sensing window are perpendicular to the first substrate.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the light sensing module further includes a lens unit and a circuit board. The lens unit is configured to provide the light from the light sensing window to the sensing unit. The circuit board is electrically connected to the sensing unit and configured to output the sensing signal output by the sensing unit. The lens unit and the sensing unit are fixed to the first substrate via the fixing unit and the fixing unit elevates the lens unit and the sensing unit to behind the light sensing window, and thereby the sensing unit is capable of detecting the light passing through the light sensing window and above the display unit via the lens unit.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the fixing unit further fixes the circuit board.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the optical touch display device includes a plurality of the light sensing modules. The display area is a rectangle, and the light sensing modules are respectively disposed on corners of the display area.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the sensing unit has a plurality of sensing areas, and each sensing area has a field of view. The light sensing module further includes at least one reflecting element disposed in front of at least one of the sensing areas so as to turn the field of view of the corresponding sensing area.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the reflecting element comprises a prism.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the optical touch display device further includes a light source. The light source is disposed on the non-display area of the first substrate and provides the light passing through an area above the display layer to the light sensing module.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the light source further includes at least one light emitting element and at least one light guiding element. The light emitting element is configured to provide the light. The light guiding element is disposed beside the light emitting element. The light emitting element has a light incident surface and a light emitting surface. The light incident surface is configured to receive the light, and the light is emitted from the light emitting surface.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the light emitting element includes an infrared light emitting element.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the optical touch display device further includes a frame, and the display unit and the light sensing module are partially wrapped in the frame.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the display unit further includes a second substrate and a plurality of spacers. The second substrate is opposite to the first substrate, and the display layer is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The spacers are disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the display unit further includes a backlight source disposed under the first substrate.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the display unit includes a liquid crystal display unit, a bistable display unit, an organic light-emitting diode display unit, an electrowetting display unit or a plasma display unit.
In the present invention, the light sensing module is disposed on the first substrate supporting the display layer, but is not disposed on the entire display unit. Furthermore, compared to the conventional techniques, the light sensing module of the present invention omits a transparent substrate disposed above the display unit. Therefore, the optical touch display device of the present invention has a thin thickness.
The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:
The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for purpose of illustration and description only. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed.
The side surface 221 having the light sensing window 223, for example, abuts the display layer 214, and the side surface 221 having the light sensing window 223 and the light sensing window 223 are, for example, perpendicular to the first substrate 211. Additionally, the above-mentioned display unit 210 can be a liquid crystal display unit, a bistable display unit, an organic light-emitting diode display unit, an electrowetting display unit, a plasma display unit or other types of display unit, and
In the present embodiment, since a portion of the light sensing window 223 is sheltered by the second substrate 216, only another portion of the light sensing window 223 can receive the light 231 above the display unit 210. In addition, since the display layer 214 of the liquid crystal display unit 210 is a non-self-luminous display layer, the display unit 210, for example, further includes a backlight source 218 disposed under the first substrate 212, so as to provide display light for the display layer 214. Moreover, in alternative embodiments that the display layer is a self-luminous display layer, the backlight source 218 can be omitted.
The above-mentioned optical touch display device 200 may further include a light source 230. The light source 230 is disposed on the non-display area 213 of the first substrate 212 and provides the light 231 passing through an area above the display layer 214 to the light sensing module 220. The light 231 provided by the light source 230 is, for example, but not limited, infrared light. In addition, after the light 231 enters the light sensing module 220 via the light sensing window 223, at least a part of photosensitive pixels (not shown) of the light sensing module 220 can detect the light 231. When a user operates on the second substrate 216, a transmitting path of a part of the light 231 is changed, and thereby some photosensitive pixels originally capable of detecting the light 231 do not detect the light 231 anymore. In such way, the touch position can be calculated according to the photosensitive pixels that have not detect the light 231 because of the operation of the user.
Unlike conventional techniques that the light sensing module is disposed on the entire display unit, the light sensing module 220 and the light source 230 of the present embodiment are directly disposed on the non-display area 213 of the first substrate 212 supporting the display layer 214. Furthermore, an additional transparent substrate disposed between the light sensing module 220 and the display unit 210 is not needed. Therefore, the thickness of the optical touch display device 200 is effectively reduced and the optical touch display device 200 has an advantage of thin thickness.
In another embodiment, as shown in
In the embodiment shown by
In addition, the light sensing module 220a may further include a lens unit 226 and a circuit board 228. The lens unit 226 is capable of condensing the light 231, so that the light 231 entering the light sensing window 223 is provided to the sensing unit 222. The circuit board 228 is electrically connected to the sensing unit 222 and is configured to output the signal corresponding to the sensing signal output by the sensing unit 222. The signal output by the circuit board 228 can be a processed signal. That is, the touch position has been calculated. In another embodiment, the circuit board 228 does not have a function for calculating the touch position. The circuit board 228 only transmits the signal to a processing unit (not shown), and the touch position is calculated by the processing unit In addition, the lens unit 226 and the sensing unit 222 are fixed to the first substrate 212 via the fixing unit 224 and the fixing unit 224 elevates the lens unit 226 and the sensing unit 222 to behind the light sensing window 223. Thereby, the sensing unit 222 is capable of detecting the light 231 passing through the light sensing window 223 and above the display unit 210 via the lens unit 226. In another embodiment, as shown in
It should be noted that, although a light source is omitted in
In summary, the optical touch display device of each embodiment of the present invention at least has one of the following advantages:
1. In the present invention, the light sensing module is disposed on the first substrate supporting the display layer, but is not disposed on the entire display unit. Furthermore, compared to the conventional techniques, the light sensing module of the present invention omits a transparent substrate disposed above the display unit. Therefore, the optical touch display device of the present invention has a thin thickness.
2. In an embodiment, the reflecting element is disposed in front of one of the sensing areas of the light sensing module, so the field of view of the sensing area can be turned by the reflecting element. Therefore, the positions of the light sensing modules are more flexible.
While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.
Claims
1. An optical touch display device comprising:
- a display unit comprising a first substrate and a display layer, the first substrate having a display area and a non-display area surrounding the display area, and the display layer being disposed on the display area of the first substrate; and
- at least one light sensing module disposed on an upper surface of the non-display area of the first substrate, a side surface of the light sensing module having a light sensing window, and at least a portion of the light sensing window being adapted to receive light above the display unit.
2. The optical touch display device according to claim 1, wherein the light sensing module comprises a sensing unit and a fixing unit, the sensing unit is fixed above the non-display area of the first substrate via the fixing unit, the fixing unit elevates the sensing unit to above the display unit, and thereby the sensing unit is capable of detecting the light above the display unit via the at least a portion of the light sensing window and outputting a sensing signal.
3. The optical touch display device according to claim 1, wherein the side surface having the light sensing window abuts the display layer, and the side surface having the light sensing window and the light sensing window are perpendicular to the first substrate.
4. The optical touch display device according to claim 2, wherein the light sensing module further comprises:
- a lens unit configured to provide the light from the light sensing window to the sensing unit; and
- a circuit board electrically connected to the sensing unit and configured to output the sensing signal output by the sensing unit, the lens unit and the sensing unit are fixed to the first substrate via the fixing unit, the fixing unit elevates the lens unit and the sensing unit to behind the light sensing window, and thereby the sensing unit is capable of detecting the light passing through the light sensing window and above the display unit via the lens unit.
5. The optical touch display device according to claim 4, wherein the fixing unit further fixes the circuit board.
6. The optical touch display device according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of the light sensing modules, wherein the display area is a rectangle, and the light sensing modules are respectively disposed on corners of the display area.
7. The optical touch display device according to claim 2, wherein the sensing unit has a plurality of sensing areas, each sensing area has a field of view, the light sensing module further comprises at least one reflecting element disposed in front of at least one of the sensing areas so as to turn the field of view of the corresponding sensing area.
8. The optical touch display device according to claim 7, wherein the reflecting element comprises a prism.
9. The optical touch display device according to claim 1, further comprising a light source disposed on the non-display area of the first substrate and configured to provide the light passing through an area above the display layer to the light sensing module.
10. The optical touch display device according to claim 9, wherein the light source further comprises:
- at least one light emitting element configured to provide the light; and
- at least one light guiding element disposed beside the light emitting element, the light emitting element having a light incident surface and a light emitting surface, the light incident surface being configured to receive the light, and the light being emitted from the light emitting surface.
11. The optical touch display device according to claim 10, wherein the light emitting element comprises an infrared light emitting element.
12. The optical touch display device according to claim 1, further comprising a frame, wherein the display unit and the light sensing module are partially wrapped in the frame.
13. The optical touch display device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit further comprises:
- a second substrate opposite to the first substrate, and the display layer being disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate; and
- a plurality of spacers disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate.
14. The optical touch display device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit further comprises a backlight source disposed under the first substrate.
15. The optical touch display device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit comprises a liquid crystal display unit, a bistable display unit, an organic light-emitting diode display unit, an electrowetting display unit or a plasma display unit.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 5, 2010
Publication Date: Nov 24, 2011
Applicant: PixArt Imaging Inc. (Hsinchu)
Inventors: Chih-Hung Lu (Hsinchu), Hui-Hsuan Chen (Hsinchu), Wei-Chung Wang (Hsinchu)
Application Number: 12/940,590